Links to the Present: November 8th, 2013 (Bynum’s Frustration…)
2013-11-08
Don’t ignore my new stuff from this morning, but this article from Brian Windhorst is required reading today. In it, Andrew Bynum talks about the still recurring knee pain that he plays through, his angst at his current limited level of performance, and occassional thoughts of retirement.
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Update: In a related vein, check out Colin’s article over on Sports on Earth where he talks about how teams handle knee injuries. There’s a gulf between Russell Westbrook and the Cavs’ Andrew Bynum, and let’s not even talk about Brandon Roy….
I had zero expectations for Bynum, so anything he gives us is gravy.
I like the fact that in Bynum’s comments he seems ‘composed’. He realizes that he’s a shell of himself and that he wants to work himself back to a point where he can produce again – but understands early retirement may be the eventual answer. What this means to me is that he’s seriously woking on getting his body right as he understands he may not have too many chances with his knees. His statements to me suggest a focus and seriousness about rehabilitation and an avoidance of doing anything that can risk his knees again (e.g. bowling). Bottom line… Read more »
It might be somewhat true, but I’d guess it’s more trying to garner some sympathy and deflect blame and the heat he is sure to face this weekend.
It’s interesting that Bynum played the “whoa is me” card just before his return to Philly. I think what he said is true, but it doesn’t mean he won’t improve over the year, and the timing of it suggests he is playing games within the media to manage expectations. If we get 20 minutes a night from 75% of Old Bynum by January that would be success.
It’s not a ledge. Bynum has the most trade-able contract in the league. If it doesn’t work out, he can be leveraged for a replacement. This was not unexpected with Bynum. Everyone in Philly is nodding their head right now.
Someone needs to inform Bynum that just existing on the court and altering a few shots is very valuable. He doesn’t need to score 20 points a game to be effective.
@Ross – he may not love the game enough to play through the pain…for free. For 18 million dollars though?
Ugh. I read Windy’s Bynum article earlier this morning. Aside from an article saying that Bynum needed to shut it down again for awhile due to pain and swelling in his knees, I can’t think of a worse possible Bynum-related article. Up until reading it, I have been pretty pumped that Bynum was ready to play small minutes from opening night and encouraged by the small steps of progress we have seen in terms of minutes played and production on the court. This killed my optimism (and I’m a very optimistic person). I just don’t see the Bynum experiment ending… Read more »